GENERAL MEETING DRAFT - Bankier.pl

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Despite a challenging market environment affected by recession, Zagreba�ka banka Group (ZABA
Group)’s 2009 performance proved its strong fundamentals by sustaining its leading market position and
strong franchise and its good income-generating capacity benefiting from its well diversified business
model as a universal bank.
Total revenues grew by 2% against 2008 which, combined with 8.4% reduction in operating costs,
resulted in 14.3% y/y growth in gross operating profit at constant rates and improvement of the costincome
ratio to 48.4%. This performance was the result of efficient cost management and a swift change
to selective lending aiming to boost liquidity in public sector and ease the downturn cycle for large
corporate clients preserving asset quality from faster deterioration. Net profit fell by 19.6% at constant
rates due to a notable rise in net write-downs on loans.
ZABA Group is the market leader in Croatia in terms of capital and total assets, having also the largest
market share in customer loans, deposits and Assets under Management. It does business with around
1.5 million clients.
Aiming to further strengthen its regional presence in retail business, in 2009 the Bank opened seven new
Retail branches and one Private corner. Total individual clients’ deposits reached €5 billion (+2,3% y/y),
driven by growth of term deposits (+8.8% y/y) mostly as result of wide savings product offer
complemented with new savings models in order to fulfil customers’ requirements. Total loans to
individual clients amounted to €3.9 billion. More than half of the total loan portfolio refers to housing loans.
Zagreba�ka banka is a market leader providing its specialized service to the small business segment
through a network of 47 business centres.
Despite the sharp decline in economic activity, exports and imports, and local corporates’ tight liquidity ,
Zagreba�ka banka achieved excellent results and re-affirmed its leading position in the sphere of
corporate banking. Total loans to corporate clients grew from €3.6 billion at the end of 2008 to €4 billion
at the end of 2009, while deposits at the end of 2009 amounted to €2 billion, representing an increase of
over 4% in comparison to the end of 2008.
In 2009, with market share increases from 24.1% to 25.6% in loans and from 22.4% to 24.3% in deposits,
the bank achieved a balanced growth in corporate banking, based also in terms of banking services
rendered, which have significantly contributed to the total result. The bank continued to further strengthen
its dealings with both the public sector (including significant financial support to the government and the
public sector overall), and the private sector (large and mid-sized companies, and multi-national clients).
The bank’s leading position as domestic investment banking services provider was recognised by the
“Best Investment Bank in Croatia in 2009” award by Euromoney. Transactions arranged in the Capital
Markets segment included major bond issues, including a eurobond issue for the Republic of Croatia, in
which for the first time the Government of Croatia awarded a Croatian bank with the leading role in a
transaction of this size and importance outside Croatia.
In the Corporate Finance segment in 2009, the bank acted, among others, as a sell-side advisor to the
owner on the sale of Getro, a Croatian grocery retailer. Additionally, the Bank played a leading role in
several noteworthy transactions and positioned itself as a leader in the region, including sell-side advisory
to the governments of Montenegro and Albania in major privatization projects. Moreover, Treasury sales
are taking an active role in advising corporate clients on hedging various market risks. Consequently, a
significant increase of derivative products sales volume was recorded, primarily in interest-rate hedging
instruments. In 2009 the Bank introduced an internet equity brokerage platform for retail clients, setting
itself on the right track for growth of market share in the brokerage segment.
2009 CONSOLIDATED REPORTS AND ACCOUNTS
94